4 March 2015
Fraudville raises real cash for Boys and Girls Club
The fourth annual Fraudville fund raiser for the Boys and Girls Club exceeded expectations. Jean Murphey organized the event. She said they raised more than $22-thousand to pay for operations at the cash-strapped club.
About 300 people came together Saturday night to watch six different entries “lip-synch” to their favorite songs.
Jean Murphey – “The bands were from Oregon Pacific Bank, The Chamber of Commerce, Coast Insurance Services, Tony’s Garage, Salon Cheveau, and The Siuslaw School District.”
There was a tie at the top between Coast Insurance’s “minion” entry and the OPB-52s “Love Shack”. Coast Insurance raised more money in the Peoples-Choice voting, giving them the edge. The musical entries weren’t the only form of fundraising.
Jean Murphey – “We had a new event called, Stick It. They wrapped a team member in duct tape with the sticky side out. And then people got to purchase and throw cotton balls at the duct taped people.”
That event raised about $16-hundred on its own.
AG identifies top ten consumer complaints for 2014
By far, the most reported consumer complaint last year in Oregon had to do with imposters identifying themselves as being from the Internal Revenue Service.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum released the top ten list of consumer complaints from 2014 in Oregon this week.
At number two, with half as many complaints, was magazine subscription fraud, followed by telecommunications.
Motor vehicle sales, financial services and health related issues were numbers four, five and six.
Number seven on the list was also number one in financial impact: International Money Transfers. 140 victims reported losses of more than $1.5-million last year in the state.
The final three items on the top ten: home ownership issues; collection agencies; and hair, nail and skin services.
A link to that top ten list can be found here: Top 10 Consumer Complaints
Federal inmate facing additional gun charges
The trial of a federal prison inmate accused of masterminding a series of burglaries on the Oregon Coast in 2011 began yesterday in Eugene.
50-year old Thomas W. Cornelius is facing a lifetime in prison if he’s convicted of any of the nine counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Cornelius was arrested near Reedsport four years ago. Police found stolen guns in his car; they were connected to a string of burglaries along Highway 101 between Port Orford and Florence.
Two of Cornelius’ alleged accomplices have already been tried and convicted in the case; his attorney maintains the pair lied and blamed the break-ins on Cornelius in order to get lighter federal sentences.
This is Cornelius’ third trial in federal court in less than a year. He was convicted in April and July of attacking and injuring two other prisoners in the Sheridan Federal Correctional Facility in Yamhill County.
Steep increase in the cost of driving
Drivers in Florence are paying one-dollar more on average per gallon today than just four weeks ago. Today’s average cash price for regular gas in Florence is $2.86; four cents higher than the statewide average as measured by Triple-A and 44-cents higher than the national average.
After four months of steady declines that began Labor Day Weekend, retail gas prices in February began what has now become a very pronounced hike.
FEC caterers sought
Proposals are now being accepted for potential caterers at the Florence Events Center. Beginning April 1st, the center will begin operating with a list of ‘preapproved’ caterers, all with access to providing services at the center.
That’s a change from the prior policy at the center. Since it opened in 1996 it has operated with an exclusive contract with a single catering company. There have been two in that time.
The City Council, acting at the request of the FEC staff, approved the change earlier this year.
Details on how to apply for the catering list, along with a sample contract, can be found at the Florence Events Center website.
